For the kids out there who think Billy Beane invented sliced bread, Sandy Alderson was Beane’s predecessor as Oakland GM and groomed the latter to be his replacement. This is an intriguing move. We’ll have to see what exact role Alderson ends up playing for the Pads, but he’s a smart baseball man and a great guy to have on our side.
News of the Hiring
- San Diego Padres hire MLB top executive Sandy Alderson as CEO (Canada.com).
- Padres hire Sandy Alderson to run club (Yahoo!). Quoth John Moores: “Aside from commissioner Bud Selig, there is absolutely no one in America who has a better understanding of the game at both the club and industry levels.”
- MLB executive Alderson named new CEO of Padres (ESPN). More from Moores: “My expectations for Sandy are modest. I want him to turn this into the best baseball franchise in America.”
Analysis of the Hiring
What bloggers are saying about the hiring. Not much, actually. Kinda figured the A’s folks would be on it, but I guess that was a long time ago.
- Sandy Lands On His Feet (Athletic Supporters). They call Alderson “one of the most important men in the history of the Oakland A�s,” citing his oversight of the late-’80s/early-’90s clubs that enjoyed a nice little run. Here’s my favorite quote: “The rest of the NL West should be on notice with Sandy Alderson resident in their neighborhood. He could take an already talented squad and move them into a dynastic mode very quickly.”
- Padres New Pope (Baseball Musings). Because padres would be Catholic, get it?
Other Info
Some of these are a little old, but insight is insight, eh?
- Speak Bluntly, and Carry a Big Bat (Business Week, Apr 2001). Talks about Alderson’s efforts to “fix” the strike zone, among other things. Deep thought: “In his three years on Selig’s staff and in the preceding 17 in Oakland, he has been a frequent critic of reckless spending. He even attends press conferences to scoff at the rich deals that are being announced.”
- The Game of His Life (Harvard Law Review, Fall 2001). Alderson’s background, plus more on the strike zone and his disdain for escalating salaries.
- The next commish? (Salon, Oct 1999). Great quote from Dennis Eckersley: “I’ve always been a fan of Sandy’s — until it comes to dealing with him.” I’d forgotten Alderson was on watch when the umpires resigned and MLB accepted. That was freakin’ brilliant.
- MLB Swings Back At Steroid Claims (CBS News). I’ll ‘fess up, I didn’t actually read this one, but Alderson’s name comes up a lot.
I’m sure we’ll be hearing a lot more about Alderson in the coming weeks and months, but there’s at least a little to get you started.
I don’t care what you say, Geoff. I distinctly remember Billy Beane inventing sliced bread.
I posted this over at BTF but here is what I think for what its worth.
For the conspiracy theorists out there, how about this idea. Alderson’s arrival is one of the first major steps to John Moores selling the Padres. Before dismissing the idea, think about this.
-Alderson is very connected within MLB thanks to his time with the league so he would be able to help with the sale of the team to a new owner.
-The Padres have avoided signing any extensions to players other than Peavy (since that was a steal of a contract for the team) and people like Hernandez, Giles and Bochy are in the last year of contracts. Nevin and Klesko come off the books after 2006 so a new owner would have plenty of money to play allow his new GM to play around with. Granted, they could be avoiding this because the contracts they signed Nevin and Klesko to absolutely are killing them now but I think you get the point.
- cont
-Moores has extensive real estate holdings near the ballpark and would benefit significantly from selling the team, at a huge profit since the franchise’s value is much higher than it was when Moores bought the team, and he could still take in all the money from his land around the park.
-If anyone is thinking that Moores wouldn’t do this because he “wants to see things through” or something along those lines with the Padres, Moores sold all of his stock in his software company right before going into the tank. It shows he’ll get out when it is profitable to do so and right now his profit margin on buying and selling of the Padres is huge.
On the flip side Alderson and Moores have both complained a great deal about higher salaries and maybe they just wanted to work together. Alderson also got a piece of ownership of the Padres in this deal so maybe both of them are in it for the long haul. It just seems like Moores has made the team as sellable as possible if he looks to sell within the next two seasons. Not that things are ever about money.
That all being said, Alderson will help the organization whether sold or not.
Interesting idea, Ed. I’ve heard folks talk about Bochy and Towers’ job security, and now this. Honestly, I could see this unfolding in so many different ways; nothing would shock me. Actually, signing Alderson shocked me. Anything that happens from here on out will pale in comparison.
The Alderson signging fits with blowing out Towers especially with Grady Fuson already in the front office. Fuson was one of Alderson’s guys in Oakland and when Beane really took over there, that is when Fuson was moved out. Still, I think the key to it all is looking at how much of the team could be changed all while building around a core of young players like Peavy, Lawrence, Eaton, Nady, Barfield, Burroughs(assuming he starts hitting at some point this year) and so on. With the wrong vets like Klesko and Nevin gone soon enough and Giles and Hernandez up to, the team could be overhauled while keeping the young faces of the franchise. It just seems to make too much sense for it not to happen. But then again, it is my theory and people are usually partial to their own thoughts.
Ed, what you say makes sense. I’m not sure the exact shape it will end up taking, but I expect there will be significant changes. The most interesting ones to watch will be Bochy, Towers, and Hoffman.